Dr. Eerenstein holds a PhD in Materials Science. Between 2003-2006 she worked as a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK), working on combined electrical and magnetic data storage devices. This work was published in Nature, Science and Nature Materials.

She was program Coordinator Solar Applications at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (2006-2016), where she worked on new applications of solar panels such as building integration. She is now owner of Renergize Consultancy and offers advice and services to companies working on renewable energy innovations. Renergize Consultancy is overall project coordinator of the Dutch project Sunbiose – www.sunbiose.nl - , a large national project on Agri-PV systems. In this project, the effect of the presence of Agri-PV systems on crops and soil quality is determined, as well as the business case.

David leads Insolight's commercial development. Prior to joining Insolight, David was an associate at McKinsey & Co where he conducted many projects in strategy, operations and transformation management across a variety of industries. He has academic research experience focused on solar energy harvesting and has worked in diplomacy at the Swiss embassy in Venezuela. David holds a MSc. in Physics from EPFL & LBNL. He speaks fluent English, French, Spanish and German

Sascha Krause-Tünker is responsible for the company business development. He has a strong focus on renewable energy and sustainability.

Previously worked as a Consultant and Interim-Manager focusing on project management, IT und finance. He has broad experience in start-up, small- and medium sized businesses as well as big corporations, intersectoral with experiences in production, logistics, energy and services.

In 2004 he completed Masters in Business Administration at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in Germany.

Jiri Bim is a consultant for several Czech companies that are developing PV project pipelines in Czechia.

He deals with aspects of permitting and zoning as well as grid connection and other technical aspects.

He has hands-on experience developing ground-mounted PV projects.

He is also PhD. student and researcher at FEE CTU in Prague and his main topic are Economic aspects of renewable energy sources.

He has focused on agrivoltaics and is also active in establishing legislation for agrivoltaics in CZ and Central Europe.

From January 2022 he is a Head of the agrivoltaics section in the Czech Solar Association.

Now he focuses mainly on regulation implementation and development large scale photovoltaics and agrivoltaics installations in the Czech Republic

Dr. Michael Salvador has over 15 years of experience in basic research and R&D and a proven track record in developing solar technologies, with emphasis on thin-film, flexible photovoltaics. Michael is an experienced Chemist and Materials Scientist, recognized for his diverse technological background including polymer semiconductors, polymer stabilization, optics & photonics, and solar reliability testing. Michael holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Cologne. He has contributed to several patents for solar devices including those forming the intellectual property of Mirai Solar. Michael has led Mirai Solar from an R&D project into a full-scale startup with manufacturing capabilities and pilot demonstrations. He has established a strong network with key stakeholders in the Agritech and AgriPV sector and raised more than $2M in funds.

Mo Horowitz is VP of Business Development at SolarGik, where he leads global sales and marketing efforts. He brings 15+ years of international experience driving impact in industries at the intersection of business, technology, and public policy. Prior to SolarGik, Mo was VP of Sales at Challenger, where he built, grew and managed the company’s SMB practice. He previously worked at several Management Consulting firms, including Gartner, CEB and Boston Consulting Group. He has advised numerous government agencies and Fortune 500 clients, with specific experience leading organizational transformations that improve operational performance and increase profitability. Mo holds a BA in International Affairs from Columbia University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, majoring in Business and Public Policy. Mo resides in Jerusalem with his wife and three sons and enjoys cycling, rugby and hiking

Noam Schwartz: Noam Shwartz is a member of SolarEdge’s Strategy team, responsible for developing and designing SolarEdge strategy and business development for the Agri-PV market. Noam holds an LLB degree from City, University of London and MBA from Warwick Business School. Prior to SolarEdge, Noam worked as a public attorney at the Israeli Ministry of Justice and as a commercial lawyer at the M&A and High-Tech department of one of the largest law firms in Israel.

1987 Management and takeover of an arable and fruit farm in conventional cultivation, from 2013 conversion to organic cultivation

2014 Regional advisor for Timac Agro Deutschland GmbH - special fertilizer’s and feed supplement products

2015 Cultivation advice and sales, Solana GmbH & Co KG, Hamburg - Cultivation advice for seed potatoes

2019 Lead Agronomist, Corteva Agriscience Deutschland GmbH, Munich - evaluation and processing of in-house and official trials in the field of maize & rape seed breeding

2022 Land Acquisition Manager, DVP Solar Germany GmbH, Berlin and Land Acquisition West, RWE Renewables Deutschland GmbH, Schönefeld

2023 Senior Expert Agri-PV, RWE Renewables Europe & Australia GmbH, Essen

Stefano joined NextEnergy Capital in September 2016 as Portfolio Manager and now is Investment Director at Starlight (BU of NextEnergy Group active in developing new initiatives in the renewable space). Stefano has a long experience in renewable energy sector wit focus in M&A, asset management and structured finance transactions for both debt and equity side. He began his career path with a 5 years’ experience in a financial advisory boutique then he progressed working as Investment Manager in Enfinity NV and Electrawinds NV (now Elicio), renewable energy producers operating internationally, and then as a an advisor managing several portfolios of solar assets in Italy for different institutional investors.

Vladimir Tabutov was born on August 25, 1983 in Blagoevgrad. He studied at the Science and Mathematics High School "Acad. Sergey Korolev" in his hometown and obtained a bachelor's degree from the International University in Germany, Germany in 2006, specializing in international business management. In 2016 - 2018, he specialized in the Harvard Business School. He is engaged in energy business. Vladimir is the acting founder and CEO of Hec Solar. Prior to this role he co-founded and managed the Hydroenergy company and the financial management company Slice Crowd. Vladimir received a bachelor’s in business administration from the international university in Germany, Bruchsal. He is also a member of the management board of APSTE –  the Bulgarian Association for Production, Storage and Trading of Electricity.

Mr. Vivek Saraf is the founder & CEO of SunSeed APV – an Agrivoltaics startup providing deep-tech decision support software and lightweight structural solutions. Vivek has 20+ years of global experience working in Finance and Renewable Energy. Vivek has been a big proponent of sustainable solar applications that provide multiple benefits apart. Vivek has engineering degree from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from Thunderbird, USA. He worked for several years in the financial consulting industry in New York before returning to India

Angela Heinssen/Founder & CEO/Lawfirm Kanzlei an der Lühe

Angela Heinssen is admitted as a Rechtsanwältin (advocat) in Germany and is an expert in the current  AgriPV legislation in Germany. Angela is also legal adviser to Vattenfall Germany for approval procedures of Solarparks . She is a member of the new German Association for Agrivoltaik (Bundesverband für nachhaltige Agri PV) and an elected member of the German Konsortium (working committee) for the new DIN SPEC 91492 Agriphotovoltaik with specific requirements for animal husbandry. Angela studied law in Göttingen, Kiel and New York with working experience in Brussels for the Directorate General Environment and the Association of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry. She grew up on a large-scale dairy farm with sheep and horses and kept more than 150 heads of beef cattle on her own land.

Dr Richard Randle-Boggis, Research Scientist, SINTEF

Richard’s research bridges disciplines and sectors to address complex sustainability challenges, with a focus on solar energy implementation. The overarching question guiding much of his research is: how can we achieve even greater socio-economic and environmental benefits from renewable energy initiatives, in addition to low-carbon electricity generation? He has a passion for agrivoltaics and its ability to tackle multiple sustainability goals simultaneously, and his experience ranges from implementing agrivoltaic pilots in East Africa through to expanding agrivoltaics research in Norway.

Ina grew up near the Black Forest in southern Germany and received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Freiburg in 2016. She has several years of experience in permitting and managing complex and challenging industrial projects. Ina joined Lightsource bp in 2023 as a Senior Environmental Planner based in Berlin, where she also focuses on Agri-PV. In her role, she works closely with the multinational teams to drive forward Lightsource bp's Agri-PV development in Germany.

Patricia Gese - Bachelor of Science in Process&Environmental Engineering - has been working in the Agri-PV market since 2017. She has been working in Agri-PV research at Fraunhofer Chile for over 3 years. In 2021 she entered the industrial sector at the EPC company GOLDBECK SOLAR. There she guided Agri-PV from business development to the implementation of the first Agri-PV projects. Since the end of 2023, she has been responsible for the sales of Agri-PV projects in Germany and Austria and is involved in association and standardization work for Agri-PV

Dr. Matthew Berwind leads a team of 20+ scientists and engineers working on developing advanced modelling techniques for integrated PV technologies. His thematic focal points consider agrivoltaics, PV system microclimate analysis, solar trackers, data analytics, and the applications of machine learning and AI for power plant digital twinning optimization.

EY 2024 Finalist Entrepreneur Of The Year in the International category, David is a Founder and CEO of the BNRG Group, which develops, constructs, owns and operates solar PV projects across the globe. Since 2007 The Group has constructed 400 MW in Europe and the US. With more than 4.5GW of active projects in the development pipeline across The USA, Canada, Ireland, UK and Australia and operational assets in both the US and Europe. Over the last 17 years, the Company has built a reputation for building best in class utility scale solar projects in multiple jurisdictions. David is an environmental scientist by profession and holds Masters degrees from National University of Ireland and the University of Wales, in Environmental Sciences and Resource Management. Prior to renewable energy development, David held positions with the Environmental Protection Agency with responsibility for Research & Development. With over 23 years in the environmental and renewable energy sectors, he is consulted frequently on complex environmental and energy issues. David was a Founder of Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy ‘AFASE’ in Europe and was a Founder of the Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA) including acting as Chairman from 2013 to 2021.

Onno Muller is a plant ecophysiologist interested in how and why plants respond to their environment, specifically photosynthesis and related traits of plants and crops in their natural habitat. With his group he combines advanced sensors as well as advance positioning for high spatial and temporal throughput of plant trait measurements. Among others he integrated and coordinates these field phenotyping approaches in the Agri Food and Energy park Alt- Morsenich with different Agriphotovoltaics systems.

Responsible for the practical agricultural knowledge development and its implementation among farmers/growers and other stakeholders (private and public). The service includes extension of the best agricultural practices and its transfer from research and development institutions to farmers and other stack holders.

The unit includes a teams of agricultural consultants in all fields of practical ironment) agriculture (plants, animals and agricultural env, which Engaged in professional problem solving in the field, building courses and professional trainings and writing professional materials in the various fields of agriculture with the aim of contributing to Israel's food security, expanding the public benefits arising from it and increasing agricultural productivity.

As part of the position, the unit is required to advise the the ministry on a range of professional issues that affect the determination of agricultural policy and the allocation of resources .

The unit leads the promotion of professional issues in the office such as: dealing with climate change and its impact on agriculture, promoting solutions for handling agricultural waste, innovation in agriculture and its implementation, increasing agricultural productivity and implementing professional reforms in the livestock sectors.

Previous positions: Director of the Central District, Director of and Forestry Division . education : B.SC in Agricultural Economics M.SC.

Agronomist and Master degree in agricultural development and economic policies. Specialist in Agrivolatic project since 2 years. I’m in charge of developing and following 6 agrivoltaics projects in fields crops and breeding at Akuo Energy, a French renewable energy developer. I also help in identifying potential land and agricultural partners.

An experienced agronomist specializing in Agri-PV projects at Doral Renewable Energy for the past four years. Chanani Ladell is currently pursuing a master's degree in horticulture, focusing his research on advanced Agri-PV technologies.

Previously, he served as a team coordinator in the R&D breeding unit of a leading seed company. He won the 2022 Promising Young People in Israeli Agriculture award.

In his current role at Doral Renewable Energy, Chanani is responsible for optimizing Agri-PV projects, ensuring efficient integration of crop construction, and overseeing field operations.

His duties include managing research programs, maintaining customer relationships through clear communication, conducting field tours, and providing professional support.

Committed to advancing sustainable agriculture through practical Agri-PV solutions, Chanani leverages his expertise and academic background to drive significant progress in renewable energy initiatives.

Marco Albini grew up in the world of photovoltaic tracking systems. His book of business counts an experience of over 14 years, in which he has developed and built more than twenty bi-axial tracking PV farms and developed solutions for retro-fit of single- and bi-axial trackers. Thanks to these skills, he is one of the founding partners of KSI Solar. Crucial within the company due to his cross-functional skills, which makes him active in the R&D department for the new photovoltaic market. Emblematic is his ability to provide accurate and timely answers on products or services, in order to create and maintain relationships with potential customers by ensuring expert advice in line with needs.

John started his career in the PV industry in 2009. He has fruitful experience from silicon crystallization solar cells and solar modules. From 2018 he started his study at agrivoltaic, from next year plenty of greenhouses are equipped with solar panels.

Since 2022 he started his work at transparent module, besides designed various transparent percentage modules, his team further developed the more transparent area and enhanced light scatter technique possessed modules which save 10% more sunlight for plants and mitigate the shade impact for growth.

His solutions widely used in Benelux, China, France, Germany, Thailand...

Brecht Willockx is a recognized expert in renewable energy, with a particular focus on the development and optimization of agrivoltaic systems. He obtained a Master’s degree in Electromechanical Engineering with a specialization in Energy from the Brussels Faculty of Engineering. Following this, Brecht pursued a PhD at the University of Leuven, where he investigated the potential of agri-PV in Belgium. His research concentrated on legislation, design modeling, and practical implementation, leading to the successful design, permitting, and development of the first pilot projects in Belgium in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including farmers, government entities, and PV developers. His work has been widely recognized, with over 10 scientific papers/books published in high-impact journals. After this innovative journey, Brecht joined Storm, a Belgian renewable energy developer, where he now works within the strategic department. His contributions to the agrivoltaics field have made him a sought-after speaker at international conferences, where he shares his expertise in balancing technological innovation with ecological and community considerations

Frank de Ruijter is an experienced researcher on farming systems and sustainable agricultural production at the unit Agrosystems Research of Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD in 1998 on the topic ‘Potato crop growth as affected by potato cyst nematodes’, and has worked on nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiencies in dairy farming and arable farming (agriculture, horticulture and flower bulb production), both with farmers’ groups and for policy makers, and on quantification of sustainable agricultural practices at global scale. Current focus is on agrivoltaics where he is involved in several research projects on design and testing of agri-PV systems.

Dr. Chad Higgins

• Agrivoltaics
• Optimum water management in agriculture
• Environmental Fluid Mechanics with special interest in applications to atmospheric flows and hydrology
• Measurement and modeling of fluxes through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum
• Spatial variability of the land surface and its effect on transport
• Large Eddy Simulations
• Raman Lidar (light detection and ranging) of atmospheric water vapor
• Development of novel measurement techniques for atmospheric fluxes

Current Research:

• Probing the spatial characteristics of atmospheric water vapor.   Advancements in laser technology and optical detection have made high resolution Raman Lidar a reality.  Here we use high powered lasers to excite water vapor molecules in the atmosphere, these molecules then release small amounts of energy that, in turn, can be detected and used to determine the water vapor concentration in the atmosphere at high spatial (1.25m) and temporal (1s) resolution.  This high resolution information allows research into atmospheric structure that was not possible previously, and has been used to investigate some of the most fundamental assumptions made about atmospheric structure.
• Effects of land surface Variability.  State of the art numerical modeling is used in conjunction with field experiments to determine the effects of land surface variability on fluxes through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum.  Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used to disentangle the complex relationships between atmospheric transport and land use, while field experimentation gives ground truth.  This interdisciplinary activity has applications in water resource management, pollutant transport, urban planning, and risk assessment.
• Instrument development.  Instrument development plays a central role in the research effort.  Currently, a path averaged water vapor sensor is under development.  This instrument will ultimately be used to determine the average evaporation from a single agricultural field, and will provide information critical to irrigation scheduling

Farmer John Langdon

John Langdon, a fourth-generation farmer from Harrisburg, Oregon, has a proposed project which is the largest crop Agrivoltaic project in North America. The project is called Muddy Creek Solar Park.   

John is a forward-thinking farmer with the knowledge and vision of real agrivolatics in the US. He speaks from a farmer's perspective on what agrivoltaics will mean for production and smaller scale agriculture moving forward. John works with municipalities, solar developers, and farmers to help develop the integration of solar and food production. When done correctly, agrivoltaics is a win-win for the solar industry and the farming community.  

Lucie LEVILLAIN is a member of the Solar New Technologies team at EDF Renewables. Her work focuses on innovation in structures, foundations, installation, and operations. One of her roles is to study the integration of robotics in the construction and operation of photovoltaic farms. She joined EDF Renewables in January 2023. Prior to this, she had experience in the automotive industry for six years, specifically in the design and construction of full-scale automotive simulators.

In his role as founder and managing director of the company, he leads the activities of GPSS. His focus is on closing a gap in Luxembourg's energy system through the development of renewable energies and the local production of green hydrogen. As a pioneer in the Agri-PV sector in Luxembourg, he has accompanied the development from the very beginning. The company GPSS has developed Agri-PV approaches specifically for local needs and is very successful in cooperating with farmers. This is the GPSS website – so you can have more general info about the company, in case needed: https://www.gpss.lu/

Maurizio Pitzolu began working in the energy sector in 2005 as a project manager in various countries around the world for companies of the Eni and Edison groups both in the world of Oil & Gas and renewables, and then joined RP Global Italy in 2023. In RP he is responsible for the development of the group's projects in Sardinia, the region from which he comes and to which he has decided to bring his technical managerial background to passionately contribute to the development of renewable energy and the ecological transition of the island. Since early 2024 he has been appointed also as Regional delegate of Italia Solare for Sardinia. Italia Solare is the Italian association of solar energy producers.

TBA

After an intensive phase in the product development of roof-integrated solutions at PREFA Aluminiumprodukte, he moved to Wien Energie in 2011. In addition to setting up the PV department, his tasks included the development of various citizen solar models. Since 2018, he has been Head of Department and Managing Director in the energy division of RWA, responsible for the organisational structure and operational managememnt of RWA Solar Solutions.